


Midnight Talks

by Cio



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: M/M, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-11
Updated: 2016-04-11
Packaged: 2018-06-01 14:08:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6523126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cio/pseuds/Cio
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I was just thinking about how in Conquest the two families have that huge awkward dinner together in Izumo and then I started thinking about like possible interactions during both families' stay together after the dinner and this fic was born. It's a bit rushed, so sorry for that.</p>
<p>I tried to avoid spoilers as much as possible, but there are some.</p>
    </blockquote>





	Midnight Talks

**Author's Note:**

> I was just thinking about how in Conquest the two families have that huge awkward dinner together in Izumo and then I started thinking about like possible interactions during both families' stay together after the dinner and this fic was born. It's a bit rushed, so sorry for that.
> 
> I tried to avoid spoilers as much as possible, but there are some.

The sudden sound of glass shattering tore Leo from his dreams, causing the blond to sit up warily in bed. Judging by how dark the sky was, every nerve in his body told him to go back to sleep, but Leo did his best to stay alert for any other suspicious noises. Sure enough, what sounded like a cry of pain, followed by a loud “thump” against the wall, could be heard from outside his room. Throwing off the covers, Leo slipped on slippers and headed out of his room.

The blond traversed the hallway of the Izumo castle, heading in the direction he was sure the noises came from, guided by the dim flame of his candlelight. He regretted not taking his tome with him, since their encounter with Zolo was only earlier that day and it was likely that a few of his goons could still be lurking around. Nevertheless, Leo trudged on in search of the source of the noises.

After walking for a few minutes, Leo was able to make out the sound of faint sniffles. Turning a corner of the dark hallway, the blond was surprised to see the younger of the Hoshidan brothers curled up in a ball against the wall, his forehead against his knees, arms wrapped around his legs. Upon closer notice, shards of glass were scattered across the floor close to where the prince was sitting.

“Is everything all right here?” Leo asked, approaching his Hoshidan cautiously. He was surprised the other hadn’t noticed his presence, or the glow of his candle.

At the sound of Leo’s voice, Takumi’s head snapped upwards, an audible gasp escaping his lips as he turned to face the other. When he realized it was only Leo, the archer shot the mage a disgusted glare, before turning his head away.

“Mind explaining what happened?” Leo approached the other prince, eyeing the broken glass on the ground. He also noticed what looked to be drops of blood on the ground blotched on the ground near Takumi.

“I don’t have to tell you anything,” Takumi spat, avoiding any eye contact with Leo, doing his best to hide his sniffles.

Leo knelt down beside Takumi, taking note of the crimson drops leading to his body. “You hurt yourself, didn’t you?”

“It’s just a small cut,” Takumi mumbled frustratedly.

“So a small cut lead to you curled up and crying on the floor?” Leo chuckled light-heartedly. “I would expect something like this from my little sister, not one of Hoshido’s greatest warriors. If that’s all it takes, then winning this war will be pretty easy for us.”

“Ugh, just shut up already!” Takumi cried out vehemently. “You’re only making things worse!”

“Okay, okay, calm down, it was just a jest,” Leo said to the other, planting a reassuring hand against Takumi’s shoulder.

Takumi flinched away at the sudden contact, slapping Leo’s hand away. “Don’t touch me!”

“I’m only trying to help.” Leo did his best to not raise his voice, his patience being tested.

“Why would you of all people want to help me?!”  
“Are you forgetting what Archduke Izana told both of our families?” Leo waited for response, continuing when Takumi failed to answer. “Izumo is neutral to the war between Hoshido and Nohr, so everyone, even our families, is neutral.”

“So?” Takumi snorted, almost as if he was amused by Leo’s answer. “Just because we’re neutral doesn’t make us allies. You’re still our enemies and we’re still yours.”

“I’m not denying that part,” Leo told the other, “but there’s no reason to quarrel here. I’m only trying to help. Let’s just put our differences aside for a minute, alright? Besides, we just had a nice family dinner with each other just a couple of hours ago.”

“The whole thing was terribly awkward and I don’t see why that would make me trust you, but whatever,” Takumi snapped, rolling his eyes.

“Well, if we both could make it through dinner together without any trouble, then I don’t see why not,” Leo explained. “We can go back to hating each other once we leave this place.”

Takumi bit his lip, contemplating everything Leo told him, before releasing a defeated sigh, making sure to wipe his tears before he began “I, um, I just woke up in the middle of the night and decided to take a walk around. I guess I should have taken a candle like you did, but I thought I’d be fine, but then I started getting this, um, headache. I don’t know why, but I’ve been getting them a lot, and I was just tired and I couldn’t walk straight and I ended up bumping into a stand and the vase on top fell and I freaked out and accidentally stepped on a shard and it was just a small cut like I said, but, I don’t know, my head just hurt and I’m just tired of everything and I just decided sit down, which is how I got here. Happy now?”

Leo listened attentively to Takumi ramble, before speaking. “I’m not sure how to fix your headache problems, but why didn’t you just go back to sleep if you were tired, instead of walking around in the dark?”

“That’s none of your business,” Takumi snapped again.

“Well, you seemed to be okay with telling me everything else,” Leo shrugged. “Do you need help getting back to your room, though?”

“That’d be nice, I guess.”

Leo stood up from the floor, offering a hand to his Hoshidan counterpart. Once off the floor, the two began to walk together, Leo leading the way with his candle. Shortly afterwards, though, the blond noticed Takumi limping behind, prompting the Nohrian prince to offer his shoulder to the archer as something to lean on. Leo allowed Takumi to wrap one arm over him and use himself as a crutch for the other.

“I thought it was just a small cut,” Leo teased light-heartedly.  
“It still stings and I’m still exhausted,” Takumi spat back. “Plus, what’re we going to do about the broken glass in the hall?”

“Someone will just have to clean it up in the morning,” Leo responded nonchalantly.

The two made their way slowly back to Takumi’s room in utter silence. Neither spoke, with only the shuffling of their feet echoing throughout the halls.

“Y'know,” Takumi coughed awkwardly, breaking the silence, “if someone saw us like this, they’d think we’re friends.”

Leo couldn’t help but snicker at the thought. “Yeah, we’re not.”

“Never said we are,” Takumi said softly, “but something’s bothering me.”

“Hm?”

“I still don’t understand why you’re so calm about, I don’t know, all of this.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, why did you bother with helping me?”

“I’ve already told you before,” Leo explained to him. “We’re in neutral territory, so no point in fighting.”

“Well, yeah, but we’re still not on good terms,” Takumi argued. “I could have a dagger with me right now and you wouldn’t be able to stop me.”

“I highly doubt that.”

“And why is that?”

“You couldn’t even remember to bring a candle with you into the dark,” Leo laughed, earning him a playful slap to the side.

“That could’ve been a ruse.” Takumi turned his head away, happy the dark concealed the scarlet shade enveloping his face that accompanied his embarrassment.

“Well, you must be a really good actor then because your crying was pretty beleivable.”

“I wasn’t crying!”

Leo couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “Whatever makes you happy. Anyway, I should be saying the same thing to you. I could have a dagger with me right now and, just a minute ago, you didn’t trust me, so what’s your reason for trusting me now?”

“I-I don’t know,” Takumi stuttered, fumbling over his words. “It’s just, you did save me. I mean, your whole family saved me, n-not just you! You guys turned your backs on your own people and now my family is safe. I’m sure it wouldn’t be the case elsewhere, but because of Izana’s rules, I guess you managed to convince me it was safe, I don’t know.”

“It’s because we don’t plan on winning this war on deceit and lies, regardless of the current conditions,” Leo explained, his voice growing softer. “We Nohrians believe in giving our opponents an equal chance at fighting and what Zolo attempted earlier was unacceptable.”

“You guys could have won the war, though, if you did take us captive.”

“Do you really think we would stoop to such levels?”

“Well, after the bombing in the town square-”

“I assure you that not all of us are like that,” Leo interrupted the archer. “Likewise, I’m sure the population of Hoshido is made up of both good and evil.”

“I guess,” Takumi mumbled quietly. “I never properly thanked you and your family, so thanks.”

Leo felt a content smile begin to tug at his lips. “It was no trouble.”

With how much the two were talking, time quickly passed and soon, both princes found themselves in front of the guest room Takumi was staying in.

“I’m assuming you’re fine from here,” Leo said, opening the door for the other.

“Um, yeah, well, but there was something I wanted to talk to you about before you go,” Takumi spoke timidly, looking down at the floor.

Leo cocked an eyebrow at the archer. “And that is?”

Without warning, Takumi grabbed Leo by the wrist and pulled him inside the room, shutting the door behind them. For a second, with how quickly everything happened, Leo really did think Takumi was about to pull out a knife and murder him on the spot.

“Um, remember how you asked me why I just didn’t go back to sleep if I was tired?” Takumi asked the blond, watching as Leo nodded in response. “Well, I usually get a lot of nightmares and I just couldn’t sleep. I’m guessing the lack of sleep is the reason for the sudden spike in headaches.”

Leo nodded understandably. “That makes sense, but I’m not sure what you expect me to do about it.”

“Well, you asked me about it earlier, so I thought you’d still want to know,” Takumi, explained, shifting uncomfortably as he felt Leo’s stare. “Don’t tell anyone, though!”

“Wouldn’t it be best to at least let your family members know?”

Takumi shook his head in response. “I doubt they’d be able to do anything about it, so it’s whatever. Also, my headache has gone away. I think it might’ve happened while we were talking earlier, I don’t know, so I guess I have to thank you for that.”

“I’m not sure how our little chat caused your headache to disappear,” Leo told the other bluntly, “but that’s good, I guess.”

Takumi fidgeted nervously, his heartbeat accelerating as he attempted to assemble his words properly, before blurting out something dumb. “Sorry, this is probably going to sound really stupid, but could you stay here with me tonight and just, I don’t know, talk with me?”

Leo gave the other a suspicious look. “I thought you were tired.”

Takumi shrugged and bit his lip, before speaking again. “Not really anymore. I just enjoyed our talk, that’s all.”

“Do you truly believe our talk was the cure for your headache?”

“Okay, just say no if you don’t want to!” Takumi blurted out, annoyed with how things were starting to go.

Leo chuckled, amused at how easily the archer was flustered. “I never said I didn’t want to. I actually enjoyed it as well.”

“O-Oh, really?” Takumi was surprised that the other agreed to his request. 

“Heh, why not?” Leo smiled, taking a seat on Takumi’s bed. “What exactly do you want to talk about?”

Takumi sat beside the other, thinking of all the possible subjects. “Tell me all about Nohr and Nohrian culture.”

“Alright then,” Leo shifted himself on the bed to make himself more comfortable, beginning their first of many topics.

—

Leo’s vision slowly cleared, his eyes slowly adjusting to his surroundings as his mind properly began to wake up. He turned to look at the window, only for his cheek to brush up against silky strands of hair. It took Leo a while to realize that his hair wasn’t that long, or that particular shade of color.

Bolting up from the bed, Leo rubbed his eyes, adjusting the covers to reveal a sleeping body, only to realize it was just Takumi. The Hoshidan prince looked totally content, a stream of drool lazily flowing from his mouth, one arm wrapped around a pillow, other limbs splayed out. It was hard to believe that he was the one that suffered from constant nightmares.

Arching his back, Leo tried his best to recall memories of last night, or what happened a few hours prior. The blond remembered telling Takumi about all the different kinds of holidays Nohr celebrated, making sure to go into detail about his favorite ones. Takumi also seemed to enjoy when Leo described the kinds of animals back in Nohr and what they looked like. The archer also did his fair share of talking, becoming very descriptive when he touched on something he was particularly fond of. They moved on to various topics, like hunting, cooking, strategy, among many others. Leo actually lost count when he tried to list everything.

The blond wasn’t sure who fell asleep first, but he was sure it was himself, since Takumi’s words were the last thing he could remember, before dozing off. He was also confused as to why Takumi never kicked him out, since one of the other Hoshidan siblings could have walked in to see the two of them together, but Leo pushed those thoughts to the side.

Leo took one last look at Takumi’s face, before realizing that the next time they’d meet, it would probably be on the battlefield. This was probably the last time Leo would get to see Takumi without his permanent scowl and aggressive behavior.

Still, Leo couldn’t help but smile as he thought about the last twenty-four hours. He somehow managed to befriend the enemy, or at least put himself on good terms with him, even if it was for a short period of time, and it was worth it.

Making sure fix the blankets and tuck Takumi properly back in, Leo slipped out of Takumi’s room and back into his own before anyone could catch them together, cherishing the newfound memory he made.


End file.
